Brahms Violin Concerto

[aligreto]

Please correct me if I am wrong but I cannot seem to find a dedicated thread for the Brahms Violin Concerto. A work of this quality and beauty certainly deserves one I should think.


This is undoubtedly a work on a grand scale. The monumental opening movement is somewhat akin to the Beethoven violin concerto [a not unusual trait for Brahms]. Its proportions are large but the textures are rich as opposed to ponderous, an example being the opening bars. The important point where the solo violin enters is well crafted. We are awakened from a dreamlike phase and we have a wonderful build up of tension out of which the soloist emerges. This eventually leads us to a very beautiful, poignant lyrical theme. There is some radiant music in here. The development section is a fine mixture of fiery and lyrical elements. The concerto was dedicated to Joseph Joachim and it is his cadenza which is usually [although not always] played in performances of the work. The cadenza at the end of the movement does not lead to a grand tutti finale but rather to a gentle reprise of the original lyrical theme and it is wonderfully done.

A haunting melody played on the oboe opens the Adagio movement. It vies for top spot, in is simplistic beauty, with any other orchestral melody that I have heard. This achingly beautiful passage of music is then continued with a variation on the oboe theme played by the solo violin. This is not romantic mush but rather serene beauty; a truly wonderful piece of music. This is one of the most ravishing pieces of music that I know.

The final movement is a wonderful contrast to the Adagio movement. It is infused with joyous and  energetic Gypsy-like music, again not an unusual trait for Brahms. There is great forward momentum in the music and the movement concludes with a suitably fine Finale.


Any novice to classical music who has not heard this concerto should definitely give it a listen.




I have just recently finished listening to all of the versions that I have in my collection. To get this thread started and for reference I will list them here:


Heifetz + Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Reiner
Krebbers + Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam/Haitink
Kremer + Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernstein
Little + Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Handley
Milstein + Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra/Steinberg
Oistrakh + Cleveland Orchestra/Szell
Oistrakh + Orchestre de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Klemperer
Oistrakh + State Radio Symphony Orchestra USSR/Kondrashin
Oistrakh + Saxon Staatskapelle Dresden/Konwitschny
Stern + Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy
Szeryng + London Symphony Orchestra/Dorati
Szeryng + London Symphony Orchestra/Monteux


What is your favourite version of this work?
What recommendations would you make for essential inclusion in a collection?

[Dee Sharp]

My first recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto was Heifitz/Reiner (on vinyl) and remains a favourite today. Of the current crop of recordings that I've heard, I can highly recommend Lisa Batiashvili with Thielemann/Staatskapelle Dresden. Extremely engaging. I also love Viktoria Mullova's and Julia Fischer's recordings.

[Herman]

Strange thing is I can't say I really have a favorite recording. It just changes. The new Janine Jansen recording is very interesting, but I'm sure a new one will come along. Of the classic recordings I like Heifetz and Oistrakh.

I do have to take issue with the view that the Brahms concerto is a sister work to the Beethoven. I think these pieces could not be more different. Beethoven's concerto is in many ways an exercise in musical humility; the material is so simple that the onus really is on the soloist and the conductor to prevent  sag.
The Brahms, on the other hand, is chock full with tension and technical challenges, even for today's players.

[North Star]

Two modern, and rather different, recordings I recommend: Shaham/Abbado/Berlin and Repin/Chailly/Gewandhaus

[asin]B001JCZXSM[/asin]
[asin]B0000646IJ[/asin]

[Ghost Sonata]

Please correct me if I am wrong but I cannot seem to find a dedicated thread for the Brahms Violin Concerto. A work of this quality and beauty certainly deserves one I should think...

So glad you love it so - it's a remarkable achievement and overwhelmed me when I first heard it over forty years ago.  Truth to tell, no recording of it I've yet listened to disappoints entire, not even Kennedy's (Tennstedt and LPO) tortoise-like performance which I nevertheless regard as an intelligent and sensitive interpretation.  I have two favorites : Joshua Bell's with Dohnányi and Milstein's with Steinberg.  But the one I listen to most these days is Neveu's (her signature work) for her expression and the level of detail she brings to it (check out her nimble double stops).   

[Ghost Sonata]

Strange thing is I can't say I really have a favorite recording. It just changes. The new Janine Jansen recording is very interesting, but I'm sure a new one will come along. Of the classic recordings I like Heifetz and Oistrakh.

I do have to take issue with the view that the Brahms concerto is a sister work to the Beethoven. I think these pieces could not be more different. Beethoven's concerto is in many ways an exercise in musical humility; the material is so simple that the onus really is on the soloist and the conductor to prevent  sag.
The Brahms, on the other hand, is chock full with tension and technical challenges, even for today's players.

Quite agree!

[king ubu]

Hard to mention a favourite recording for me, too ... but I love the ones by Ginette Neveu, perhaps the one with Schmidt-Isserstedt a bit better than the others. But I'd have to do a proper comparative listen. The Brahms and Mendelssohn concertos are the most popular ones in my collection ... of both I have amasssed (mostly via box sets, so while I wanted stuff by the respective musician - or in some cases: label -, I might not have gone for his/her Brahms concerto individually ... but that's no real excuse for the amazing number of 44 versions  - the fact that one is just a one-mvt excerpt doesn't change the picture much - just in case, the follower is Schumann's pc with 42, Cortot, Michelangeli and Richter leading the pack with three each).

The Brahms'es:

Fritz Kreisler, Staatskapelle Berlin, Leo Blech, 1927 (cadenzas: Kreisler)
Fritz Kreisler, London Philharmonic Orchestra, John Barbirolli, 1936 (cadenzas: Kreisler)
Jascha Heifetz, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, 1937 (cadenza: Auer, arr. Heifetz)
Georg Kulenkampff, Berliner Philharmoniker, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, 1937
Jascha Heifetz, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, 1939 (cadenza: Auer, arr. Heifetz)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Staatskapelle Dresden, Karl Böhm, 1940
Yehudi Menuhin, New Friends of Music Orchestra, Georg Schnéevoigt, live 1940
Ginette Neveu, Philharmonia Orchestra, Issay Dobrowen, 1946
Joseph Szigeti, Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos, live 1948
Ginette Neveu, Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, live 1948
Ginette Neveu, Orchestre National de France, Roger Desormière, live 1948
Ginette Neveu, Den Haag Residentie Orchestra, Antal Dorati, 1949
Yehudi Menuhin, Lucerne Festival, Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1949
Gioconda de Vito, RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester, Ferenc Fricsay, 1951
Gioconda de Vito, Orchestra sinfonica di Torino della RAI, Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1952 (III - Alllegro giocoso)
Gioconda de Vito, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rudolf Schwarz, 1953
David Oistrakh, Staatskapelle Dresden, Franz Konwitschny, 1954
Johanna Martzy, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, 1954
Christian Ferras, Wiener Philharmoniker, Carl Schuricht, 1954
Leonid Kogan, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Charles Bruck, 1955
Jascha Heifetz, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, 1955
Erica Morini, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Artur Rodzinsky, 1956
Yehudi Menuhin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Rudolf Kempe, 1957
Leonid Kogan, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, live 1958
Henry Szeryng, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, 1958
Berl Senofsky, New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, John Barbirolli, live 1959
Isaac Stern, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, live 1959
Isaac Stern, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, 1959
Nathan Milstein, Philharmonia Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari, 1960
David Oistrakh, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, Otto Klemperer, 1960
Zino Francescatti, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, 1961
Henryk Szeryng, London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati, 1962
Yehudi Menuhin, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, 1963
Christian Ferras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan, 1964
David Oistrakh, Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, 1969
Zino Francescatti, ORTF, Erich Leinsdorf, live 1969
Michael Rabin, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Zoltán Rozsnyai, 1970
Henryk Szeryng, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, 1973
Gidon Kremer, Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein, live 1982
Yehudi Menuhin, Gewandhausorchester, Kurt Masur, 1982 (DVD)
Thomas Zehetmair, Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, 1989
Patrice Fontanarosa, Orchestre Symphonique Française, Laurent Petitgirard, 1991
Hilary Hahn, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Mariner, 2001
Viktor Tretiakov, State Academy Symphony Orchestra of the USSR, Yuri Temirkanov, unknown date

Certainly, the Ferras/Karajan does rank highly on my list, as does the Martzy/Kletzki.

[aligreto]

My first recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto was Heifitz/Reiner (on vinyl) and remains a favourite today. Of the current crop of recordings that I've heard, I can highly recommend Lisa Batiashvili with Thielemann/Staatskapelle Dresden. Extremely engaging. I also love Viktoria Mullova's and Julia Fischer's recordings.

Thank you for that. I bought a version of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Batiashvili as the soloist and I was very impressed. 

[aligreto]

Strange thing is I can't say I really have a favorite recording. It just changes. The new Janine Jansen recording is very interesting, but I'm sure a new one will come along. Of the classic recordings I like Heifetz and Oistrakh.

I do have to take issue with the view that the Brahms concerto is a sister work to the Beethoven. I think these pieces could not be more different. Beethoven's concerto is in many ways an exercise in musical humility; the material is so simple that the onus really is on the soloist and the conductor to prevent  sag.
The Brahms, on the other hand, is chock full with tension and technical challenges, even for today's players.

I can understand one not having a favourite as only one in my collection did not hit the high standards of the others but it was still good.

Of course the Beethoven and Brahms concertos are different and I did not say that it was a sister to the Beethoven concerto but I do see echoes of Beethoven there. I think specifically of the proportions, the key, the tempi, the temperament of the work, how the soloist enters as well as other issues. These things can well be a matter of perception but, as in his first symphony, I do see a nod backwards in the direction of the old master and I am not saying that this is a bad thing.

[aligreto]

Two modern, and rather different, recordings I recommend: Shaham/Abbado/Berlin and Repin/Chailly/Gewandhaus

[asin]B001JCZXSM[/asin]
[asin]B0000646IJ[/asin]

Thank you for the recommendations. I am not overly familiar with either violinist, perhaps Repin a little more so.

[aligreto]

So glad you love it so - it's a remarkable achievement and overwhelmed me when I first heard it over forty years ago.  Truth to tell, no recording of it I've yet listened to disappoints entire, not even Kennedy's (Tennstedt and LPO) tortoise-like performance which I nevertheless regard as an intelligent and sensitive interpretation.  I have two favorites : Joshua Bell's with Dohnányi and Milstein's with Steinberg.  But the one I listen to most these days is Neveu's (her signature work) for her expression and the level of detail she brings to it (check out her nimble double stops).

Yes it is a wonderful, momentous work. Milstein's version would perhaps be my favourite. I do not know the Neveu so I will have to investigate that one. I think that Bell includes a different cadenza if I am not mistaken? Thank you for the recommendations.

[aligreto]

The Brahms'es:

Fritz Kreisler, Staatskapelle Berlin, Leo Blech, 1927 (cadenzas: Kreisler)
Fritz Kreisler, London Philharmonic Orchestra, John Barbirolli, 1936 (cadenzas: Kreisler)
Jascha Heifetz, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, 1937 (cadenza: Auer, arr. Heifetz)
Georg Kulenkampff, Berliner Philharmoniker, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, 1937
Jascha Heifetz, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, 1939 (cadenza: Auer, arr. Heifetz)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Staatskapelle Dresden, Karl Böhm, 1940
Yehudi Menuhin, New Friends of Music Orchestra, Georg Schnéevoigt, live 1940
Ginette Neveu, Philharmonia Orchestra, Issay Dobrowen, 1946
Joseph Szigeti, Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos, live 1948
Ginette Neveu, Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, live 1948
Ginette Neveu, Orchestre National de France, Roger Desormière, live 1948
Ginette Neveu, Den Haag Residentie Orchestra, Antal Dorati, 1949
Yehudi Menuhin, Lucerne Festival, Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1949
Gioconda de Vito, RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester, Ferenc Fricsay, 1951
Gioconda de Vito, Orchestra sinfonica di Torino della RAI, Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1952 (III - Alllegro giocoso)
Gioconda de Vito, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rudolf Schwarz, 1953
David Oistrakh, Staatskapelle Dresden, Franz Konwitschny, 1954
Johanna Martzy, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, 1954
Christian Ferras, Wiener Philharmoniker, Carl Schuricht, 1954
Leonid Kogan, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Charles Bruck, 1955
Jascha Heifetz, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, 1955
Erica Morini, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Artur Rodzinsky, 1956
Yehudi Menuhin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Rudolf Kempe, 1957
Leonid Kogan, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, live 1958
Henry Szeryng, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, 1958
Berl Senofsky, New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, John Barbirolli, live 1959
Isaac Stern, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, live 1959
Isaac Stern, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, 1959
Nathan Milstein, Philharmonia Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari, 1960
David Oistrakh, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, Otto Klemperer, 1960
Zino Francescatti, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, 1961
Henryk Szeryng, London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati, 1962
Yehudi Menuhin, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, 1963
Christian Ferras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan, 1964
David Oistrakh, Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, 1969
Zino Francescatti, ORTF, Erich Leinsdorf, live 1969
Michael Rabin, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Zoltán Rozsnyai, 1970
Henryk Szeryng, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, 1973
Gidon Kremer, Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein, live 1982
Yehudi Menuhin, Gewandhausorchester, Kurt Masur, 1982 (DVD)
Thomas Zehetmair, Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, 1989
Patrice Fontanarosa, Orchestre Symphonique Française, Laurent Petitgirard, 1991
Hilary Hahn, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Mariner, 2001
Viktor Tretiakov, State Academy Symphony Orchestra of the USSR, Yuri Temirkanov, unknown date

Certainly, the Ferras/Karajan does rank highly on my list, as does the Martzy/Kletzki.

All that I can say is WOW   

I will have to go through that list a little later.

[Ghost Sonata]

...I think that Bell includes a different cadenza if I am not mistaken?...

Yup, it's his own, adding to the considerable number of them (around 20 if memory serves)!

[king ubu]

All that I can say is WOW   

I will have to go through that list a little later.

You will of course quickly notice my tendency towards recordings from the 40s to 60s ... when I started exploring classical, it was mostly via piano and violin players, buying boxes such as the Icons from (then) EMI by Heifetz, Rabin, Kreisler etc., also exploring the likes of Szigeti, Francescatti, Goldberg (didn't he record the Brahms, btw?) or Neveu, and later adding those prohibitively priced South Korean boxes by Martzy, Morini and de Vito, as well as the Ferras (didn't first want to get it, as I had his DG/Universal box already, which I still prefer as a whole - a favourite amongst my violinist boxes), the big sucker by Heifetz etc. The Brahms concerto quickly spoke to me, as did the Beethoven and Mendelssohn ones. Those are still among my favourite works. But no way I could tell you about the difference between all of these recordings - I did some shockingly efficient private library building in the past years, but these things need a lot of time to slowly drizzle in.

Alas I only heard the Brahms performed in concert once so far, by Frank Peter Zimmermann in the 2013/14 season at Tonhalle (Zinman conducting) and that was pretty marvelous, too!

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Two modern, and rather different, recordings I recommend: Shaham/Abbado/Berlin and Repin/Chailly/Gewandhaus
[asin]B0000646IJ[/asin]

The Shaham is fantastic. Very poetic in conception.

Another fave of mine: Morini/Rodzinsky.

[aukhawk]

I look no further than Oistrakh for the concerto "for violin against orchestra" - but maybe the rest of the world has moved on ...

[asin]B00005NPJ1[/asin]

[amw]

Only one I need, at the moment, is Isabelle Faust w/ some fairly okayish hangers-on.

[aligreto]

Yup, it's his own, adding to the considerable number of them (around 20 if memory serves)!

Thank you for the confirmation 

[aligreto]

You will of course quickly notice my tendency towards recordings from the 40s to 60s ... when I started exploring classical, it was mostly via piano and violin players, buying boxes such as the Icons from (then) EMI by Heifetz, Rabin, Kreisler etc., also exploring the likes of Szigeti, Francescatti, Goldberg (didn't he record the Brahms, btw?) or Neveu, and later adding those prohibitively priced South Korean boxes by Martzy, Morini and de Vito, as well as the Ferras (didn't first want to get it, as I had his DG/Universal box already, which I still prefer as a whole - a favourite amongst my violinist boxes), the big sucker by Heifetz etc. The Brahms concerto quickly spoke to me, as did the Beethoven and Mendelssohn ones. Those are still among my favourite works. But no way I could tell you about the difference between all of these recordings - I did some shockingly efficient private library building in the past years, but these things need a lot of time to slowly drizzle in.

Alas I only heard the Brahms performed in concert once so far, by Frank Peter Zimmermann in the 2013/14 season at Tonhalle (Zinman conducting) and that was pretty marvelous, too!

Thank you again for that. I am definitely beginning to envy your collection. I like to collect the older vinyl stuff too but I have a storage issue [which obviously comes with the territory]. I am sure that the sole performance you heard was indeed wonderful and you go one better than me as I have not heard it live yet 

[aligreto]

The Shaham is fantastic. Very poetic in conception.

Another fave of mine: Morini/Rodzinsky.

Thank you for the endorsement, your description sounds very apt and interesting